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I am looking at houses in Wilton/Weston area. I saw a foreclosure house sells at 600K's with 5000 square footage. The condition of the house is acceptable. One of my concern is the property tax, as the rate in CT is much higher comparing to where I live now. I checked the tax history of the house, the valuation was much higher than the list price. My question is, if I purchase this house, will the assessed value be based on the purchase price, as in many states, or it will be kept at the higher price? And, what will happen when it is re-assessed after 2-3 years? I don't want to be caught in a situation that I can't afford the property tax.
Thanks in advance for any useful advice or comment.
Towns assess all properties every five years. The town then takes 70% of the assessed value and multiplies the town’s mill rate. A mill is the amount of tax charged per thousand dollars of assessed value. So if the home’s assessed value is $300,000 and the town’s mill rate is 30 mills, the tax would be $300 x 0.70 x 30 = $6,300.
So you know too that the assessed value is not necessarily related to the price you pay for the home and it is very rare that a town will significantly lower the assessed value of a home, even if you have proof the value is high. I hope this helps. Jay
Thanks Jay this helps a lot. That's quite different from other states. In California and Florida where I lived the value is "reset" to purchase price and there is a homestead ceiling for how much the assessed value can hike every year.
What will happen if there is a real estate boom in CT? Does that mean the property tax will also hike? If there is someone living in a fixed income wouldn't that scenario kicks them out of their house just because they can't afford the property tax?
Thanks Jay this helps a lot. That's quite different from other states. In California and Florida where I lived the value is "reset" to purchase price and there is a homestead ceiling for how much the assessed value can hike every year.
What will happen if there is a real estate boom in CT? Does that mean the property tax will also hike? If there is someone living in a fixed income wouldn't that scenario kicks them out of their house just because they can't afford the property tax?
Connecticut is a very mature state, so there is not a lot of vacant land for large scale development. There are no unincorporated areas and each town has a comprehensive plan of development and very strict zoning laws. This controls changes in communities. Also if a developer wants to build something, they are responsible for all improvements required for it. They must bring in their utilities and improve roads so it won’t impact a town’s taxes.
As for tax increases, while there is no homestead programs, tax increases are controlled by politics. If a town official wants to get re-elected, they can’t have allowed significant increases in taxes in the communities they serve. For the most part taxes here seem to keep up with the rate of inflation. Taxes on the homes of the elderly however can be difficult. Some towns do offer tax reductions for them. I hope this helps. Jay
It won't be reset to the purchase price. When the next revaluation is done, they'll consider the current market price, which will be based upon its value at that point, not on the distressed sale price you paid. However, you can appeal the revaluation, or even appeal the valuation in the year after you purchase. Don't expect much of a reduction, though.
What will happen if there is a real estate boom in CT? Does that mean the property tax will also hike? If there is someone living in a fixed income wouldn't that scenario kicks them out of their house just because they can't afford the property tax?
Don't expect there to be a real estate boom in Connecticut. People are leaving by droves to avoid the high property taxes there. It's the same in NYC and New Jersey.
I only see cities/counties getting more expensive in the future. Don't consider governments there to be good stewards of their constituents' monies.
Don't expect there to be a real estate boom in Connecticut. People are leaving by droves to avoid the high property taxes there. It's the same in NYC and New Jersey.
I only see cities/counties getting more expensive in the future. Don't consider governments there to be good stewards of their constituents' monies.
And all those people leaving are selling their homes to new people who are buying them.
What will happen if there is a real estate boom in CT? Does that mean the property tax will also hike?
The taxes could very well go up. If wealthier people are moving in (like from NYC) it will force the residents out who can't keep up with higher incomes. I am originally from Stamford. I and many cousins got forced out of southwest Fairfield County as waves of New Yorkers moved in. We now live in Fairfield, Trumbull (my town), Monroe, Newtown and even Milford etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fengxg
If there is someone living in a fixed income wouldn't that scenario kicks them out of their house just because they can't afford the property tax?
There are a lot of towns that have senior property tax relief and the state does too. It works like this..... the state gives up to $1200 for property tax relief but then lots of towns have senior tax relief that "piggy backs" off that.
Many Fairfield County towns have very good senior tax relief. I see you are interested in Wilton and Weston......both very nice towns .
In the PDF below you can get an idea of all the towns in CT that have senior property tax relief. It is dated 2015 so call the towns you are interested in as many towns have updated their senior tax relief for the better. https://ctcwcs.files.wordpress.com/2...ruary-2015.pdf
My husband turns 65 August 1 of this year so I have been researching all of this information as we will probably end up east of New Haven in a few years. That old thing of New Yorkers pushing us out of our town again lol. That's OK we love New Yorkers....my moms family was from Brooklyn.
I only see cities/counties getting more expensive in the future. Don't consider governments there to be good stewards of their constituents' monies.
Just because real estate taxes are what you consider high doesn't mean that the towns are not good stewards of the money. Most of the tax money from the towns goes to the schools. There are people like me who do want to support the schools. Of course it's a fine balance.
IMO education is very important.
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